Last May, Jimmie Johnson made headlines when he announced that his team, Legacy Motor Club, would be switching from Chevrolet to Toyota, joining Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing as the third one under the Toyota banner. However, despite Johnson’s optimism about Legacy’s long-term prospects with Toyota, their debut year left much to be desired on the track.
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Collectively, the trio of drivers in the team managed only a single top-5 finish, courtesy of Erik Jones at Talladega, alongside a total of six top-10s. In the final standings, none of the drivers ranked higher than 28th secured by Jones.
While John Hunter Nemechek came in 34th in the final driver standings, the seven-time NASCAR Cup champion ended up in 37th place this year after participating in nine races. Despite these lackluster results, Johnson is optimistic about Legacy’s prospects with Toyota.
Reflecting on the team’s performance, Johnson remarked, “This is a long-term play for us with Toyota. We anticipated a smoother transition this year, and it turned out to be more challenging than expected. There’s nothing we can do about it except to work harder and improve. That’s exactly what we’re preparing to do.”
Further adding up to the explanation he said, “We couldn’t have tried any harder this year. It’s just part of the journey, is probably the best way to put it. I think this year has been a very transformational year for us. We won’t have a great sense of the change until we get into probably March of next year.”
Johnson orchestrated a few more changes within his team beyond swapping manufacturers
In a big shuffle within the team, technical director Brian Campe stepped in to replace Ben Beshore as the crew chief for the #42 car on October 8, 2024. That same day, Dave Elenz, the crew chief for Erik Jones, was succeeded by Ben Beshore, who transitioned from the #42 to take on the role of the #43.
Earlier in the year, on July 26, Legacy Motor Club decided to part ways with Jason Burdett and several members of the #84 team’s crew, appointing performance director Gene Wachtel as the interim crew chief for the upcoming Kansas race.
The team’s management also saw fresh appointments; Bobby Kennedy took over as Legacy’s general manager in July. Shortly after, Jacob Canter, a seasoned engineer with a rich background in racing, was brought on board as the director of competition.
Further strengthening the leadership, Campe was appointed technical director in October. Then last week, the team welcomed former Cup crew chief Chad Johnston as the new manager of race engineering. Additionally, Travis Mack was brought into the fold and will take up the role of crew chief for John Hunter Nemechek in 2025.
